The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Never pray to the gods that answer after dark.”
So goes the warning to Addie, a warning she ignores in a moment of desperation. Determined to escape a life she does not want, she makes a bargain with a being she does not understand. In the classic tradition of all such deals the consequences are immediate and far worse than she could ever have predicted. But Addie is far stronger than she is given credit for; slowly, painfully, she learns how to survive in her new reality. The characterization of the god she made the deal with was beautifully done. Never predictable, he seems perfectly human in one moment only to transform into a monster of old the next. The fear he provokes has less to do with any specific threat he makes and far more to do with the repeated reminders of just how powerful and inhuman he truly is behind the smiling veneer.
As Addie’s acceptance of their deal sets them up for a contest of wills, his only weakness is that he doesn’t really understand humans any better than we can understand him.
“What is a person, if not the marks they leave behind?”
Cursed by her deal to a near-invisible immortality, we get to watch as Addie slowly learns how to make her mark on a world determined to forget her. Reading this felt almost like a slow burn enemies to lovers romance, except the primary relationship was between Addie and life itself. Watching her slow shift from terrified flight to fighting-against to fighting-for was deeply satisfying. The book was basically an incredibly in-depth character study of Addie; slow moving and light on plot, but with some of the richest characters I’ve seen in a while.
By far my favorite aspect of the book was the ending. Yes the prose was beautiful and yes the characters were all fully developed, but the finale threw me for a loop in the best possible way. I was SO confident I knew how it would have to end, but V.E. Schwab threw in one last twist to elevate the entire novel. The sheer potential of the last few lines of the book will stick with me, and I may have to read it again soon just to appreciate them in context. This would be a fabulous bookclub book because people will definitely have strong opinions about Addie’s choices throughout her life, and I’d be shocked if everyone agrees. I paired this with champagne as Addie’s drink of choice. (Obviously by champagne I mean prosecco, don’t yell at me.) My current go-to is LaMarca Prosecco - not too pricey, not too sweet, a good sparkling wine to drink on its own or in cocktails.
